Exploration

Ferdinand Magellan

agellan was born in a noble family, in Sabrosa, northern Portugal in 1480 under the name of Fernao de Magalhaes (in Portuguese). From a young age he served the crown by being page to Queen Leónora of Portugal. He departed on the first of many voyages to India in 1505 at the age of 25. There he assisted Francisco de Almeida and Diego Lopez de Sequira (two consecutive viceroys in India) in attempting to gain control of lucrative Indian trade ports from the Arabs. Four years thereafter, Magellan and Francisco Serrao tried in vain to wrest control of Malacca (today called Melaka) a Malayan port.

From 1511 to 1512, Serrao (and probably Magellan too) travelled to Tenate, in the Spice Islands (now known as the Moluccas). Here a fruitful cinnamon and nutmeg commerce started blossoming, and in 1512 Magellan returned to Portugal and was promoted to captain. Thereafter he was involved in battles against the Moroccan Moors, and was wounded leaving him lame for life.

The present King of Portugal, Emanuel, turned down Magellan’s appeal for an increased royal allowance, as well as consequently unsupportive of Magellan’s plans for an expedition to the Moluccas. Receiving no support from his crown, Magellan abandoned his nationality. In 1517 he presented his service and plans to Charles the first (the King of Spain and later Charles the fifth, Holy Roman Emperor).

Magellan had heard that there was a possibility that South America was in fact not joined (contrary to belief) to what was speculated to be the Great Southern Continent. He also learnt that one could sail in a westerly direction, around the tip of South America, and thereby reach the Far East.

At the time, the Spanish controlled this western route and the western area, whereas Portugal controlled eastern routes. This was according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which stated that Portugal had naval rights to the east of, and Spain to the west of the Line of Demarcation. As Portugal was already in possession of the remunerative Eastern Countries, Spain needed to determine where exactly on the opposite side of the world the analogous demarcation line would lie in order to place productive lands in their area. Unfortunately, no one was certain in whose area the Moluccas lay, and the Spanish royals eagerly approved of Magellan’s plans. Finance for his expedition came from the House of Fuggers, a German banking firm.

At last Magellan's expedition was ready for departure in 1519, and set sail on September 20 from Sanlucar de Barrameda. He had a 5-ship fleet and a crew of 250. He first traveled down the African coast to approximately where Sierra Leóne is today. Then he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to reach South America by 1520. There he investigated Brazil's coast.

In February his expedition arrived at the Rio de la Plata River, which Magellan, due to its' estuary's size, thought to be the southern end of South America. Upon nearing the estuary, he sighted a mountain and is believed to have exclaimed "Monte Video!" ("I see a mountain"). Two centuries later, a city was established there and adopted that name. Today it is Brazil's capital city, Uruguay. Just as the Southern Hemisphere winter was beginning, Magellan anchored his fleet in what is today Port San Julian on 31 March. During the 6-month rest, mutiny arose in Magellan's crew. Magellan was forced to execute the leader of the rebels. Also, one of his 5 ships was wrecked while traveling along Patagonia's coast.

Once the winter had passed, Magellan sailed on October 21 1520 from the port into a passage, now named the Strait of Magellan. After traveling for more than 5 weeks along the strait, Magellan lost a second ship, the San Antonio, owing to the crewmembers that abandoned the expedition and sailed back to Spain.

Magellan named the land near the Strait Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fires, as he sighted fires on the southern shores. His 3 remaining ships entered the pacific on November 28 1520. After a treacherous 530km/330-mile journey, Magellan named the new ocean waters according to their peaceful serenity.

Magellan continued his circumnavigation, and sailed up along the South American west coast before heading across the pacific in a westerly direction, avoiding most of the South Pacific islands. He did, however, see vague parts of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Islands of Disappointment.

They traveled for about 3 months without seeing land, and most of the crew was dying of scurvy. This was owing to the shortage of fresh food and water. In order to survive, the crew had to eat boiled leather, rats and sawdust. They eventually reached Guam, Mariana Islands, on March 6, 1521. Here they were able to stock up on supplies. However, embezzlement became a problem owing to a misunderstanding with the amiable natives. Magellan named this area the Landrones, or the Islands of Thieves. Leaving these islands he traveled westwards in the hopes of finding the Moluccas, or Spice Islands. He was, in fact, traveling too far north to reach them. Nevertheless, after about a week he sighted the Philippines, and became the first European to do so. After arriving in Cebu, an island in the Philippines in April 1521, he formed an alliance with its ruler to help him attack Mactan, a nearby island. Three weeks later, on 27 April 1521, a party led by Lapu-Lapu, the Mactan chief, killed Magellan in battle.

After his death, Magellan's fleet lost a third vessel. A crewman razed it so the enemy couldn't take possession of it. The last 2 vessels reached the Moluccas in late 1521. The circumnavigation of the world initiated by Magellan was completed when Victoria, captained by Juan Sebastian del Cano, reached Seville on 9 September 1522. The journey had taken the crew around South America's southern tip, past the Philippines and around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.

It might be argued that Magellan didn't strictly circumnavigate the globe, as he died before the expedition was complete. However, technically speaking, if he had traveled to the Moluccas on a previous journey in 1511, then he would have reached the point where he died, making his circumnavigation complete.

The Strait of Magellan, which laid the foundations for New World and Eastern trade, was too impractical a passage to the East for the Spaniards, so it was sold to Portugal. The Philippines was also not initially viewed as an asset, yet by 1600 it had become the heart of Spain's eastern trade.

Magellan, through his expedition, confirmed that the earth was spherical and that the oceans were not separated by land, but joined. This was also aided by the discoveries of Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus. Magellan also helped cartographers find the correct size of South America and the Pacific.